The Dark Knight: Clean
by bmatt3712
Summary: Bruce Wayne has been a recluse at Wayne Manor for 4 years. Batman, a wanted criminal for the murder of Harvey Dent and others, has vanished. Crime and corruption are way down and the city is peaceful. But who is Miranda Tate and why does Lucius Fox of Wayne Enterprises suddenly want to make a major investment in her company. Meanwhile, a fire will rise...


"Ms. Tate, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Lucius Fox, Chairman and CEO of Wayne Enterprises, extended his hand warmly to the tall brunette figure in front of him. But his curled smile and dapper grey wool suit couldn't conceal the dark shadows around his eyes or the increasing creases forming on his face.

Miranda Tate took his hand into hers, shaking firmly. A practiced handshake reflecting deep experience dealing with powerful men of Fox's stature. But there was a softness to her as well. Not the handshake of a ruthless businesswoman. But rather of a serious entrepreneur with vision but also moral clarity.

"Likewise, Mr. Fox. It's such a pleasure to be invited up to Wayne Enterprises. I've been hoping to meet with you for awhile now."

She smiled softly. Her eyes met his. Fox was already enamored with her presence as a businesswoman. Perhaps she'd be the one to help bring back Wayne Enterprises from the brink.

"Can I get you a drink? Scotch, perhaps?"

Fox asked as he nodded toward a paneled wood cabinet in the corner of the Executive Suite. The 53-year old grey-hair engineer wasn't a drinker. But lately he had found himself pouring a neat glass of whiskey at the end of the day more often than he used to.

"No, thank you, I don't drink."

Miranda's eyes darted around the room, absorbing. She found herself fixated on a large portrait hanging behind Fox's back. It depicted a handsome brunette in black a three-piece Brooks Brothers suit. She gazed into the man's green eyes as if he were standing there.

"Well, let's get down to business, then. The board of Wayne Enterprises has noticed the great work Tate Environmental has been doing on clean energy under your efforts. You've really started something."

Fox noticed that her deep eyes no longer met his. He turned around to admire the portrait she was looking at.

"Yes, Bruce is known to have that effect on people," Lucius chuckled.

Bruce Wayne, heir to the Wayne Enterprises empire and famed Gotham socialite hadn't been seen at his company's headquarters in over four years. In fact, he hadn't been seen at all.

The eccentric billionaire had become reclusive, holed up in stately Wayne Manor away from the eyes of the world. Away from the eyes of Gotham.

Miranda's cheeks became slightly rosy. "I've always admired Mr. Wayne's charitable dedication. He's a wonderful philanthropist. Too bad he's not so great with public relations these days. I would have loved to have met him to discuss the Clean Energy Project."

Fox frowned. Miranda Tate was understating the case. Public relations. Business. Dating. Bruce wasn't too good at anything lately. His absence left a hole in Wayne Enterprises that severely damaged the firm's stature.

In fact, Fox hadn't spoken to Bruce Wayne - in person or on the phone - in over a year. All communications came through the impersonal touch of an email. Or the occasional message from Bruce's trusted butler, Alfred J. Pennyworth, on behalf of his absent employer.

"I agree, but you'll have to do with me," Fox chuckled again. "I don't want to beat around the bush Ms. Tate. We're interested in making a major investment in Tate Environmental. Bruce believes your clean energy project could be the solution to the world's energy problem that we've been looking for ourselves for years."

Bruce had been absolutely clear to Lucius. He saw Tate's work as a save the world energy project that could alter the course of human history. And Fox was authorized to take up to a 60% stake in Tate's company, though she would never cede that much control to Wayne.

"That's wonderful to hear, Mr. Fox. You have to invest in the world if you care about saving it." Miranda's eye caught plaque on the wall to side of Fox's mahogany desk. "I didn't know Mr. Wayne graduated from Princeton."

Fox beamed. "Oh! He didn't. Flunked out. But they were nice enough to grant him an honorary degree when he returned to Gotham after his long absence in Asia. You attended the Sorbonne, if memory serves?"

Fox had trouble placing her slight wisp of an accent. Was she french?

"I did indeed. I graduated with high honors in economics and political philosophy. But my heart was always set on coming to Gotham. Every ambitious woman's dream, perhaps. And here I am."

Fox knew surprisingly little about the woman seated before him. She graduated from the Sorbonne in her twenties before coming to Gotham to establish Tate Environmental, but had no notion of her history before that.

And it wasn't for lack of trying. Miranda Tate had done an admirable job of keeping her private family history just that: private.

The seed money for her company was also a question. Miranda Tate was rich - she obviously had some family money - but not rich enough to fund her enterprise all by herself. What was clear was the success she had found and her brilliance and charm as a skilled businessperson.

"John Daggett has offered to buy a 60% stake in my company." Fox froze at Miranda's utterance. Daggett was Bruce Wayne's #1 business enemy. Daggett tried - and failed - to acquire a majority stake in Wayne Enterprises in a hostile takeover bid.

Daggett had no morals, no ethics. Any interest he would have in a clean energy project would be purely mercenary in nature. He thought he could make a killing and stick it to Bruce at the same time.

"We're prepared to match that offer, Ms. Tate, at a significantly higher price." Fox was not about to let this deal slip into Daggett's oily fingers. He was ready to play hard ball.

"I'm not interested in partnering with John Daggett, Mr. Fox. He only cares about money and the power that he thinks it buys. He doesn't believe in the vision. Bruce Wayne may have a practiced apathy, but I can see through it. I'm not willing to give Mr. Wayne a 60% stake in my company, Mr. Fox. But a fifty-one-forty-nine partnership where I maintain control is agreeable to me."

Fox smiled again. "Mind if I pour that scotch?"


End file.
